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I am a fan of slow smoked meats; ribs, pulled pork, even smoked poultry.
I subscribe to a smoking newsletter and just received the latest version this morning. It looks good. I may give it a try and bring it to the next wine club event.
Smoked Pulled Pork with Cherry Dr. Pepper
Ingredients
(1+) 6-8 lb. Pork Butt(s) (Boston Butt)
(2) 12 oz. cans of Cherry Dr. Pepper (1.5 cans per butt*)
(1) batch of Jeff's Rub recipe
(1) 9x13 Disposable cake pan (about 2 inches deep)
*I used about 9-12 ounces as an injection then I used about 1/2 can in each pan per my instructions on down the page.
Purchasing the Meat
I highly recommend using the pork butt instead of the picnic when making pulled pork. The picnic will work fine but it does have a thick skin that needs to be removed and in my opinion it is not as flavorful as the butt.
The butts are usually called a "Boston butt" and range anywhere between 6-8 lbs and may have a fat cap on the top side.
Raw Pork Butts
I have seen these lately being sold as 3 and 4 pounders as well but upon closer inspection you will notice that they are actually just halves.
Tip: The pork butt normally shrinks by 40% during cooking which is great information if you are calculating how much meat to cook. i.e. an 8 lb. butt will yield just under 5 lbs of meat.
Preparing the Meat for Smoking
As I mentioned before, I decided to inject my pork butts this time which is something I rarely do. My rub recipe is amazing and adds so much flavor to the meat that injecting is usually just overkill. I suppose I was just wondering how much it would change the flavor, if any, and if it would actually have a twinge of cherry when I got finished.
Injecting
I used my heavy duty injector by Cajun Injector and put an ounce or so of cherry Dr. Pepper about every 2 inches across the top of the butt. There are various methods for injecting meat but I usually go in at a 45 degree angle and once I push the needle in.. I back up about 1/2 inch before pushing in the plunger.. seems to work well for me. It is ok if some of the fluid runs out the top of the hole you made.
Adding the Rub to the Outside
I normally use yellow mustard or some olive oil to help the rub to stick but in keeping with the theme, I used more cherry Dr. Pepper to wet the outside of the meat and help the rub to stick better.
Once I moistened the outside of the meat, I poured about 1/2 cup of my rub recipe on top and proceeded to massage it into the meat. As the rub mixed with the beautiful deep red color of the soda, it turned into a paste and made the pork butt look good enough to eat right then and there. I added more rub for the sides and bottom of the pork until it was well coated on all sides.
Smoking the Pork Butts
Leave the pork butt(s) on the counter to warm up a little and go get the smoker ready to go. If this takes you more than about 25-30 minutes then you might want to do this before prepping the meat so it does not sit out too long.
I highly recommend setting the smoker up for cooking at about 230 degrees or less. I tend to keep mine at about 220 or so most of the time. This does take a little more time but then my rub does not burn so it's worth it to me.
If you have a water pan, be sure to use it. It does seem to help keep the air more moist and while I don't subscribe to the idea that the moisture actually gets into the meat, I do think that moist air has less of a drying effect that completely dry air so it does help.
If you like you can add some juice, more Dr. Pepper or even an onion or garlic bulb to the water pan if you're feeling it.. I threw in an onion and garlic bulb for good measure;-)
Once the smoker is setup and ready to go, place the pork butt directly on the grate and let it smoke away for a while. If your pork butt has a fat cap like mine did, place it fat side up.
What Type of Wood for Pork Butt? : I use heavier flavors for the larger cuts such as mesquite, hickory or pecan. In this session, I used a 50/50 mix of Hickory and Cherry to stay with our "cherry" theme a little bit.
If you are using a charcoal, electric or gas smoker, keep the smoke going by replacing the chips/chunks as needed for at least 4-6 hours.
Be sure to insert a digital probe meat thermometer either in the beginning or sometime in the first 4-5 hours so you can monitor the internal temperature.
Once the pork butt reaches about 160 degrees, you may opt to place it in a pan and/or wrap it in foil to finish it off. At this point the butt has been exposed to plenty of smoke and some time in the foil will not only super tenderize it, it will help it to get done a little faster in some cases. You can always just leave it on the grate until it's done if you wish.. your call.
At around 6 hours, I checked and they had reached 160 degrees so I placed them in a foil pan, added some cherry Dr. Pepper to the bottom and covered the top with foil before placing them back into the smoker to finish.
Placed Pork Butt into a foil pan Added some cherry Dr. Pepper to the pan(s)
Let the pork butts cook until they reach at least 200 degrees with about 205 being about perfect. At this point they are very tender and will practically fall apart with very little effort.
Here is one of the butts once it reached 205 degrees. As you can see the pan is full of liquid which is part cherry Dr. Pepper and mostly rendered fat and juices from the meat. The juice will be saved and used later.
Pulling the Pork
If you follow my cooking instructions and let it cook to an internal temperature of 205 degrees, this process will be very easy. I usually slide the bone out first thing. I then start pulling the meat into large pieces and discard any fat that I find.
I then stir the meat around in a bowl and it just sort of falls apart. If you have any trouble with this, just use 2 forks and pull the meat in opposite directions to shred it.
As I stir it around, I am still looking for any pieces of fat that can be removed. I do not like clumps of fat in the meat so I am very careful to remove as much as possible. This is a little tedious but I think it is worth it and knowing that my family and friends are not eating that stuff makes me feel like it's a worthwhile task.
The pulled pork is now finished and can be used in whatever way you wish.
I subscribe to a smoking newsletter and just received the latest version this morning. It looks good. I may give it a try and bring it to the next wine club event.
Smoked Pulled Pork with Cherry Dr. Pepper
Ingredients
(1+) 6-8 lb. Pork Butt(s) (Boston Butt)
(2) 12 oz. cans of Cherry Dr. Pepper (1.5 cans per butt*)
(1) batch of Jeff's Rub recipe
(1) 9x13 Disposable cake pan (about 2 inches deep)
*I used about 9-12 ounces as an injection then I used about 1/2 can in each pan per my instructions on down the page.
Purchasing the Meat
I highly recommend using the pork butt instead of the picnic when making pulled pork. The picnic will work fine but it does have a thick skin that needs to be removed and in my opinion it is not as flavorful as the butt.
The butts are usually called a "Boston butt" and range anywhere between 6-8 lbs and may have a fat cap on the top side.
Raw Pork Butts
I have seen these lately being sold as 3 and 4 pounders as well but upon closer inspection you will notice that they are actually just halves.
Tip: The pork butt normally shrinks by 40% during cooking which is great information if you are calculating how much meat to cook. i.e. an 8 lb. butt will yield just under 5 lbs of meat.
Preparing the Meat for Smoking
As I mentioned before, I decided to inject my pork butts this time which is something I rarely do. My rub recipe is amazing and adds so much flavor to the meat that injecting is usually just overkill. I suppose I was just wondering how much it would change the flavor, if any, and if it would actually have a twinge of cherry when I got finished.
Injecting
I used my heavy duty injector by Cajun Injector and put an ounce or so of cherry Dr. Pepper about every 2 inches across the top of the butt. There are various methods for injecting meat but I usually go in at a 45 degree angle and once I push the needle in.. I back up about 1/2 inch before pushing in the plunger.. seems to work well for me. It is ok if some of the fluid runs out the top of the hole you made.
Adding the Rub to the Outside
I normally use yellow mustard or some olive oil to help the rub to stick but in keeping with the theme, I used more cherry Dr. Pepper to wet the outside of the meat and help the rub to stick better.
Once I moistened the outside of the meat, I poured about 1/2 cup of my rub recipe on top and proceeded to massage it into the meat. As the rub mixed with the beautiful deep red color of the soda, it turned into a paste and made the pork butt look good enough to eat right then and there. I added more rub for the sides and bottom of the pork until it was well coated on all sides.
Smoking the Pork Butts
Leave the pork butt(s) on the counter to warm up a little and go get the smoker ready to go. If this takes you more than about 25-30 minutes then you might want to do this before prepping the meat so it does not sit out too long.
I highly recommend setting the smoker up for cooking at about 230 degrees or less. I tend to keep mine at about 220 or so most of the time. This does take a little more time but then my rub does not burn so it's worth it to me.
If you have a water pan, be sure to use it. It does seem to help keep the air more moist and while I don't subscribe to the idea that the moisture actually gets into the meat, I do think that moist air has less of a drying effect that completely dry air so it does help.
If you like you can add some juice, more Dr. Pepper or even an onion or garlic bulb to the water pan if you're feeling it.. I threw in an onion and garlic bulb for good measure;-)
Once the smoker is setup and ready to go, place the pork butt directly on the grate and let it smoke away for a while. If your pork butt has a fat cap like mine did, place it fat side up.
What Type of Wood for Pork Butt? : I use heavier flavors for the larger cuts such as mesquite, hickory or pecan. In this session, I used a 50/50 mix of Hickory and Cherry to stay with our "cherry" theme a little bit.
If you are using a charcoal, electric or gas smoker, keep the smoke going by replacing the chips/chunks as needed for at least 4-6 hours.
Be sure to insert a digital probe meat thermometer either in the beginning or sometime in the first 4-5 hours so you can monitor the internal temperature.
Once the pork butt reaches about 160 degrees, you may opt to place it in a pan and/or wrap it in foil to finish it off. At this point the butt has been exposed to plenty of smoke and some time in the foil will not only super tenderize it, it will help it to get done a little faster in some cases. You can always just leave it on the grate until it's done if you wish.. your call.
At around 6 hours, I checked and they had reached 160 degrees so I placed them in a foil pan, added some cherry Dr. Pepper to the bottom and covered the top with foil before placing them back into the smoker to finish.
Placed Pork Butt into a foil pan Added some cherry Dr. Pepper to the pan(s)
Let the pork butts cook until they reach at least 200 degrees with about 205 being about perfect. At this point they are very tender and will practically fall apart with very little effort.
Here is one of the butts once it reached 205 degrees. As you can see the pan is full of liquid which is part cherry Dr. Pepper and mostly rendered fat and juices from the meat. The juice will be saved and used later.
Pulling the Pork
If you follow my cooking instructions and let it cook to an internal temperature of 205 degrees, this process will be very easy. I usually slide the bone out first thing. I then start pulling the meat into large pieces and discard any fat that I find.
I then stir the meat around in a bowl and it just sort of falls apart. If you have any trouble with this, just use 2 forks and pull the meat in opposite directions to shred it.
As I stir it around, I am still looking for any pieces of fat that can be removed. I do not like clumps of fat in the meat so I am very careful to remove as much as possible. This is a little tedious but I think it is worth it and knowing that my family and friends are not eating that stuff makes me feel like it's a worthwhile task.
The pulled pork is now finished and can be used in whatever way you wish.
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